Your coupon number may be among the winning numbers announced on Friday under the government's taxpayer incentive prize program.
However, how can you tell whether one of those winning coupon numbers belongs to you? If you made your payment using a QR code, you may not even know your coupon number.
According to Keshav Raghuvanshi, director at the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the system automatically generates coupon numbers for eligible transactions made through QR payments. These coupon numbers are stored in the department's system, which also contains the purchaser's details, including their name and phone number.
At present, however, consumers who pay through QR codes cannot view their coupon numbers. As a result, they cannot independently verify whether the winning coupon numbers published by the department belong to them.
Instead, the IRD identifies winners by matching the coupon numbers in its system with the corresponding consumer information. If a consumer wins the lottery, the department will notify them directly.
Coupon numbers to soon be visible during payments
The IRD said that it is upgrading its system so that consumers can view their coupon numbers immediately after making an online payment.
Once the upgrade is completed, users will be able to see and save their coupon numbers at the time of making QR payments. They can then compare those numbers with the winning coupon numbers published by the department.
This will allow customers to check for themselves whether they have won. Currently, this feature is not available.
Cash buyers receive coupon numbers
Consumers who purchase goods or services with cash must obtain a PAN or VAT bill and enter the bill details on the IRD's website to receive their coupon number.
As a result, consumers making cash payments already have access to their coupon numbers and can compare them with the winning numbers announced by the department to determine whether they have won.
Eligible QR payment transactions, on the other hand, are automatically entered in the system, and consumers do not need to submit their bill details separately.
Although users making QR payments cannot currently view their coupon numbers, the IRD says that coupon numbers have already been generated for all eligible bills. The system links each coupon number to the customer's information, enabling the department to identify and notify winners.
If you made an eligible QR payment online and your bill's coupon number wins the lottery, the IRD will inform you.
First lottery draw
In the first phase, 15 regular winners and one bumper prize winner were selected from among eligible transactions made between July 17 and July 31.
Each of the 15 regular winners was awarded Rs 133,334. After deducting the 25 percent windfall gains tax, each winner will receive Rs 100,000.
The bumper prize amount is Rs 1 million, with the winner receiving Rs 750,000 after the same 25 percent tax deduction.
Winners must claim their prizes within 15 days by visiting the nearest Inland Revenue Office. They are also required to keep and present the original bill when claiming the prize.
Going forward, the department will announce winners twice every month: on the 16th of each Nepali month for transactions made from the 1st to the 15th, and on the last day of each Nepali month for transactions made from the 16th through the month's end.
